In my Remains

[blackshot]

Private Jonah Hauser
ODST Trooper
153rd ODST Company
Epsilon Eridani IV


Jonah, aboard a Pelican, felt his heart pounding as the mission place comes nearer every second. He looked from left to right as he watched his fellow marines keep a straight face. One of his fellow Marines tapped him on his left shoulder.

"Buddy, your fear can be seen behind your helmet."

Jonah nodded.

"Well, it's my first time to be sent on a mission behind enemy lines."

The Marine laughs.

"I know that feeling."

The pilot on the Pelican yelled over the comms. Jonah powered his rifle as the Pelican descend on a low altitude.

"Alright Marines!!" The Sergeant yelled. "Your mission is simple. Infiltrate the Insurrection Base and destroy the Scorpion Tanks they had in their garage. Is that clear?"

"Sir, yes sir!" They all yelled.

"Godspeed."

The five Marines jumped down on the ground below. Jonah followed the last Marine. Jumping down, he kept his wits altogether because he knew that it's the only thing to save himself from a doomed fate.

[blackshot]

As he lands down on the ground, he let out a grunt. He gazed forward, kicking off the ground and following the other Marines, heading towards a huge boulder.

He examined his surroundings. He found themselves on an island with a red sand surrounded by a sea of ocean. The sun setting off at the horizon just gave the scene its breathtaking view. This just sparked an inspiration in him. He won't let the Insurrectionists or the Covenant destroy a place like this.

As he reached the boulder, he immediately hid from the view. A fellow Marine whipped out his binoculars and scanned towards a metallic bunker that stood out in a clearing like an ugly mole on a glowing white skin.

"You think that's theirs?" One of the Marines asks.

"I'm pretty sure it was." Jonah answered. "Based on the Intel, it was said that these guys were usually hanging out in there."

"So, what's the plan?" Another Marine asked.

"We infiltrate the base and blow up the vehicles just as planned." Jonah answers.

Nodding at him, the Marines observed a figure on a distance. They watched as ten Innies came to view.

"Ain't that too many for a base?" One of the Marines asked.

"Who gives a heck? Let's attack now!"

The Marines sprang out of cover. As soon as the Innies spotted them, all hell broke loose.

[blackshot]

Jonah, feeling stressed out, doesn't know what to do as his fellow experienced Marines fought the Insurrectionists. The plan was simple. He, along with his team, would be assigned individually on a Marine Fireteam. Once Jonah's team managed to locate the Base, they are supposed to infiltrate it. Based on the ONI Agents, the base will lead to a huge open courtyard where the other Fireteams would be dropped off. There, Jonah and the other ODSTs shall regroup there.

As he hid behind another boulder, he watched as a Marine got hit in the chest. Feeling sorry for him as he choked on his blood, Jonah couldn't handle it but he gathered up all his courage to take a peek. He've done this before. Why be scared now?

He took a peek and spotted an Innie firing at his teammates. Jonah aimed at him and immediately fired.

Hitting him on the leg, the Innie let out a cry as he turned and ran to a nearby cover. Jonah thought that it was now or never. As cold sweat trickled on his face, he gulped as he sprinted towards the running wounded Innie while firing at him. Finally, he took him down.

He immediately hid behind the nearest cover, another boulder. Scanning the battlefield, he saw what remains of his fireteam and the Innies fighting each other. The base was two sprints away. He counted the enemies and saw that five of them are still remaining. Aiming at the nearest one, he fired at him, missing his shots.

The Innie immediately hid behind the boulder near to him. Jonah tossed a frag grenade at his position, forcing him out. As soon as he jumped away from his position, revealing his body, Jonah opened fire, hitting him three times on the chest and once on the leg, grazing the rebel. Jonah fired at his head, ending his life.

He sprinted towards a boulder near the Base. Now a sprint away is what stands between him and their base. He scanned at the Innies, three of them while firing at the remaining two. Gunfires and screams are everywhere. The whole place looked like a total warzone.

Jonah aimed carefully, putting a knee on the ground. He let out two short bursts at his target, hitting the unaware Innie on his back, sending him crashing on the boulder. Bleeding on the ground, Jonah fired at him, ending his life.

"Hauser, get to the base!" One of the Marines yelled.

Nodding, Jonah sprinted towards the base. He quickly snatched the Intrusion Device from his utility belt and then stuck it on the silver door of the bunker/base.

Soon, the door open with a bang.

[blackshot]

Jonah raised his weapon as he entered inside the base. He found himself staring at a long steel corridor. A door can be seen at the end of it, secured with a datapad that can be overridden by an intrusion device. However, it was guarded by a duo of Innies, who already had their sights on Jonah.

Jonah, upon seeing the armed Innies, jumped right back outside the base as he hid from view. He heard barks of orders from the Innies as the subordinate one ran at him at full speed.

Jonah risked a peek as he took aim. He fired three short bursts, hitting the Innie. Since the Innie was on the corridor, this prevented him to take cover or run away since the bullet will get to him anyway. The Innie fell on the ground, dead, killing him.

The remaining Innie whirled to the direction of the steel door. He punched in a few buttons which made it open with a hiss. Jonah sprinted towards him at full speed and fired multiple times, hitting the Innie on the spine.

Jonah dashed inside the door just as it closed behind him. He found himself on a mess hall littered with Innies.

He ran towards a steel table then flipped it. He hid behind as he heard multiple gunfires everywhere.

[blackshot]

Jonah scanned his surroundings while in the middle of the violent firefight. Steel tables and chairs were that previously set down were now flipped over and became sandbags for the gunfight. Half eaten meals were spilled over the floor as the armed men turned the tables over.

The motion tracker on Jonah's VISR displays that there are five men trying to kill him. His fears were racing in his mind and forcing him to flee as the loud screams and gunfires rang in his eardrums. Peeking at the enemies once more, he decided to stand up and race to the other turned table while firing at the Innies.

As he reached the second table, he ducked, avoiding a bullet by inches. He blindly fired at the men, causing them to stop firing to take cover.

As he take the chance to open fire, his rifle suddenly clicked, indicating that his gun ran out of ammo. He let out a curse as he switched to his M6D Pistol and started downing the nearest Innie, who was foolish enough to take a peek.

One of the remaining Innie stood to fire at him but was shot by Jonah on the chest and on the face in the process. Another Innie tossed a grenade at Jonah. The frag grenade bounced on the floor as it lands exactly at his hiding place.

Reacting quick, Jonah rolled away as the grenade exploded behind him, sending him flying due to the impact. He immediately gathered his senses as his heart pounded fastly. Fear and adrenaline raced in his mind as the latter wants him to fight while the former wants him to flee. Jonah ran towards a turned table as he reloaded his rifle. As the magazine clicked when he slammed it on the loader, he took aim and saw two Innies running towards him as one of them hailed him with bullets.

"Ah, shoot!" The ODST yelled as he was forced to flee to a nearest table.

As soon as he got a clear shot for one of the Innies, he opened fire, taking down the Innie, who now have bullet holes on his chest. Jonah, fortunately managed to toss a grenade at the other Innie. The Innie was about to roll away when the grenade exploded, blowing him up. Jonah tucked as the explosion shook the life out of him. He took a peek as he saw the last Innie, shaken by the violent fight. He fired multiple times befors the Innie could react, taking him down.

Standing up, Jonah saw the mess they made. Multiple bodies in blood bath laid dead on the ground. The steel wall was covered in blood, tables turned, meals were now mixed with ashes and flesh.

He continued on to the only door on the left, pressing the access button. It opened with a hiss. He walked inside, breathing deeply as he prepared himself for the worse.

[blackshot]

As Jonah stepped inside, the steel wall that accompanied him on his journey when he first stepped inside the base has never left him. He walked deeper, the scene was now being revealed to him slowly. He was on an Armory, occupied by three Innies loading up their Assault Rifles with ammunition.

Jonah, spotting the three rebels, immediately hid behind a stack of green smuggled ammo crates. An insignia of the UNSC was imprinted on the side of the boxes, indicating that the smuggled ammos were supposedly for the UNSC Navy.

He slowly crouched, pulling his knife slowly as he took a step towards an Innie, who happens to be far enough from his comrades. A bead of sweat trickled down his cheek as he gripped the hilt tight, feeling the soft cushion of the hilt that fitted in his hand. With a one quick swing of his hand, putting the Innie on a headlock, he also put his armored gloved hand to his mouth, muffling him. He let out a scream but no sound escape from Jonah's hand. Raising up his knife to drill it on the Innie's skull, the rebel watched in horror as his demise came to a close.

Then just as that, his knife bored through his skull. His head slumped on the other side as blood spilled to his armor.

Slowly, Jonah dragged the newly made corpse away from view, behind the stack of ammos. Carefully, like lion ready to pounce on his prey, he watched closely as he studied his enemy's moves, ready to attack at any moment.

[blackshot]

He watched as the other Innie strayed away far enough from his comrade for Jonah to execute him. He walked past the shelves of various weapons, armors and equipment as he walked towards a rack of rifles. Jonah, thinking that his mind would be busy in making choices of what weapons to use, quickly moved up behind him, sneaking towards him stealthily. But unfortunately for the ODST, the rebel turned back, meeting the menace in helmet face to face, or rather face to visor.

The Innie reacted quickly, smacking a fist on Jonah's faceplate. Adrenaline and combat instincts kicked in as he remembered all the things that he learned in the Boot Camp. The Innie snatched his M6D Pistol, raising it on Jonah's chest, aiming at a dangerous point blank range. Reacting quickly, Jonah grabbed his M6D Pistol, wrestling it from the rebel's hand. He launched an elbow to his Insurrectionist counterpart, making him bend his body a little. This gave an opening to his neck as his head exposed it. Jonah took the advantage, smashing his elbow on his neck with all his might, choking the Innie. Stepping his right foot between his legs, he swept his left foot, tripping the Innie off balance.

The Innie accidentally crashed on the rack of rifles but he ended up losing his grip on his pistol. Jonah, reacting quick, snatched his own M6D pistol from its holster and then fired three clips on the rebel's chest. Aiming the other Pistol which he held on his left hand, he fired at the last Innie just in time he turned to his friend's direction to find out what causes his fall.

He fell on the ground, dead. Poodle of blood escaped from his skull, bathing the rebel with his own blood.

Jonah stepped over him as he reached for the door on the left. Opening it up, it reveals a ladder that goes straight down.

Holstering all his weapons, he gripped on the steel handle. His fingers feeling the coolness of the metal as he landed both his feet on the railings. He slowly and quietly climbed down the ladder.

As soon as he was low enough, he jumped down, landing on the steel floor. The impact made out a loud thud that echoes everywhere. He found himself on a cramped room, facing the only door present with him. With no place to hide, he just shrugged his shoulders as he pressed the access button. Soon, it revealed a long narrow corridor. At the end of it was another door that thankfully, no one ever wanted guarding.

[blackshot]

Sprinting across the long narrow hallway, he was able to complete his run with no complications at the very least. He pressed the access button, prompting the metallic door to open up with a hiss. He walked stepped inside, being greeted by an identical small and cramped room. He walked inside, having a feeling of deja vu. With a jump, he managed to clamp his hands at the railings of the ladder. He began his ascent towards the upper floor, determined to reach his objective at all cost.

It seems like his fear has died off but his adrenaline, having won its battle against fear, rushed through every bloodstream in his body. The whole thing was not new to him now. Everything just became normal like it was 'commonplace' just to say it.

As he reached the last rail, he heard chatter and laughter at the upper ground. His motion tracker only read four of them. Engaging them is not wise, nor throwing a grenade at them. Supposedly, the upper ground was a command post to the Innies, based on Intel. It should contain a communication paraphernalia that was required to call the Pelicans where the other Marines were aboard in, to the Courtyard, which should be just outside this post.

He waited but he was losing his grip as seconds flew by. He relaxed his hands in order not to let it happen. As he wasted valuable time, he finally heaved a sigh as his precious wait was rewarded. One of the Innies left through the door.

"It's show time." He muttered.

One by one, the Innies left until there is only one Insurrectionist remained on the motion tracker.

He made a knocking noise, loud enough to intrigue the Innie topside. Curious, the Innie shot a questioning glance at it as he stood and approached.

He took a peek, just in time to meet the barrel of Jonah's M6D.

"Go on, make my day." He said as he opened fire, spraying plumes of blood and flesh in the air. His body slumped on the ground below with a loud clang.

[blackshot]

The ODST hoisted himself up, gaining flight as he did so. His body landed on the floor with a clang. He stood up and quickly walks toward the computer on his left.

He scanned his surroundings and found himself surrounded with computers, both used for surveillance and communications alike. He worked on with the main one as he opened up a signal comms beacon to the nearby UNSC Personnel.

"Any UNSC Personnel nearby, this is Private Jonah Hauser of the 153rd ODST Company, I need assistance now."

A short static can be heard then finally a transmission from a UNSC Personnel.

"This is Lance Corporal John Winchester of the 153rd ODST Company. I'm glad you made through the fire, son."

Jonah let out a smile. He chuckled then says, "In my Remains, will you wake?"

"What the hell does that even means?"

"Just a poem. Well haven't finished it." Jonah laughed.

As soon as the comms were killed by Jonah, he heard the loud drones of the Pelicans nearby followed by screams and gunfires. An explosion errupted somewhere. It was so loud and powerful that the post even shook.

He waited for a few minutes. Soon, the gunfires and explosions were all suppressed. Jonah walked outside of the command post through the only door in front of him. Soon, he found himself staring at the courtyard, now turned to a messed up warzone.

On the horizon were various mixes of UNSC Personnel, both Marines and ODSTs from Jonah's fireteam, alike, talking to each other, cheering and securing the perimeters for any Innies that might be lurking somewhere. The Leader, happy to see one of his subordinates survive the trial by fire since the death of one of his soldiers, grinned as he approached Jonah. He sent a friendly jab on his chest as he greeted him.

"What's next, sir?" Jonah asks upon approaching him.

"So eager and determined, ain't cha? Let's get those Scorpions blown up. Follow me."

The ODSTs lined up with The Leader on the lead. This was their first mission since Smith's death. Having replaced him with another ODST, the team was little bit not used to the new one but eventually, they'll agree with her soon. Eventually.

"So, who's the new one?" Carmichael asked as they ran towards a huge closed garage.

"Oh, that's Private First Class Anais Lynch. She's fresh from the Boot Camp, a new blood."

"Yeah, I can see that."

"Sir, how will we even blow these things up?" Jonah asked.

"Well, we have to secure the base, clear off the hostiles, then plant the bombs on the tanks."

"Affirmative."

[blackshot]

Jonah examined the garage in front of them. Just like any other garage, it was made out from galvanized iron, constructed with strong foundations. It was so huge and wide that it can house almost a hundred vehicles in total.

But Intel says that the tanks inside were only nine.

The Marines and the ODSTs, having reached the garage, tried prying their way in. The Leader, hoping that it would put a dent on the roll up accordion, tried kicking it three times but to no avail, he ended up releasing a suppressed sigh.

"Jonah," he called as he turned to Jonah's direction. "I guess you need to open it up manually."

Jonah nodded. He walked closely to the accordion roll up to inspect it closely. Upon seeing the electrical wires rigged almost everywhere, he grinned because it was related to electronics, his forte.

"It'll take a while, sir. But you need to prepare yourselves. Once I open this up, those guys might be prepped up to put holes on you."

"Oh yeah? Well I'd say, they bring it on."

Jonah nodded. He turned around as he began walking in a particular direction.

He was planning to walk around the garage, hoping to find a ladder that will bring him up to the garage's room. He was planning to disable the power generator on the garage's roof. Once it happens, the accordion, when worked on carefully, can be opened.

As soon as he reached the opposite side of the garage, he laughed in joy as he found ladder that will bring him up.

Putting his hands and feet on the ladder, he began climbing up, reaching the roof in no time.

Just as he got up, an Insurrectionist Sniper that seems to came out of nowhere, fired at him.

He let out a curse as he looked into the bad side of the situation he was in. More time will be wasted.

He almost slip from the ladder when the Innie fired. He immediately climbed up then rolled on his left. He began crawling towards the power generator, a blue rectangle not far from him, in hopes of avoiding any enemy fire.

He heard another shot. A bullet nearly hit him, landing just beside him. An inch, he'd be dead.

Crawling with an increased pace, he quickly crouched as he hid behind the generator, putting his back against it. The generator, plated with an anti shock metal, won't hurt the ODST.

Jonah began prying the generator open under heavy pressure as he the sniper open fire. Annoyed at all this, Jonah took aim at the Sniper, who was aiming at him, then fired three times, hitting him on his chest. His body slumped down on the ground, dead.

He finally managed to open the generator. Working on it, the generator sparked as Jonah finally switched the lever down. The accordions slowly opened up. Soon, gunfires can be heard.

In hope of joining the party below, Jonah jumped down directly at the location of his team but upon seeing all the dead Innies taken down by the UNSC Personnel, he shook his head, missing the party that occurred.

Well, haven't he gone through hell today for him to fight another fight?

Just in time, The Leader was finished rigging the tanks with bombs. The rest of the Marines ran back to their own Pelicans.

Soon, the ODSTs did the same with Jonah following behind the ODST in front of him.

As he reached the Pelican, he climbed aboard, finding a seat beside the new ODST on his fireteam.

Soon, the Pelicans ascended. Jonah was glad that he could not see the scenery below that reminds him of all the hellish experience he have gone through earlier. He heaved a sigh as he removed his helmet.

As soon as the Pelican reached a safe distance, the Garage below exploded, blowing up the tanks with it.

"Today my brothers at arms," The Leader began. "Was another victory against the Innie. They were no match with us. And because of that, I can only say one thing."

Altogether, they yelled "Hoorah!!"

The Pelicans were en route to a UNSC Carrier. Soon, they flew inside its hangar bay.

--END--